蒋高明 有专家推荐了一篇转基因水稻营养成分发生变化的文章。文章发表在国际刊物《农业与食品化学杂志》上,题目是转基因的亚洲栽培稻籽粒发生非预期成分改变。 原文英文标题:Unintended compositional changes in transgenic rice seeds ( Oryza sativa L.) studied by spectral and chromatographic analysis coupled with chemometrics methods。 作者工作单位:School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510275, China. 中山大学化学与化学工程学院 作者:Zhe Jiao; Xiao-xi Si; Gong-ke Li; Zhuo-min Zhang; Xin-ping Xu 期刊名称和期号:Journal of agricultural and food chemistry Volume: 58 ISSN: 1520-5118 ISO。发表日期:2010年2月 原文出处: http://www.biomedsearch.com/nih/Unintended-Compositional-Changes-in-Transgenic/20050687.html 英文摘要 Unintended compositional changes in transgenic rice seeds were studied by near-infrared reflectance, GC-MS, HPLC, and ICP-AES coupled with chemometrics strategies. Three kinds of transgenic rice with resistance to fungal diseases or insect pests were comparatively studied with the nontransgenic counterparts in terms of key nutrients such as protein, amino acids, fatty acids, vitamins, elements, and antinutrient phytic acid recommended by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The compositional profiles were discriminated by chemometrics methods, and the discriminatory compounds were protein, three amino acids, two fatty acids, two vitamins, and several elements. Significance of differences for these compounds was proved by analysis of variance, and the variation extent ranged from 20 to 74% for amino acids, from 19 to 38% for fatty acids, from 25 to 57% for vitamins, from 20 to 50% for elements, and 25% for protein, whereas phytic acid content did not change significantly. The unintended compositional alterations as well as unintended change of physical characteristic in transgenic rice compared with nontransgenic rice might be related to the genetic transformation, the effect of which needs to be elucidated by additional studies 英文摘要译文 用近红外反射法,气相色谱-质谱法、高效液相色谱法、电感耦合等离子体原子发射光谱法,并以化学计量法研究三种(分别)可抗霉菌病和抗虫的转基因水稻 中重要的营养物质成分组成(按欧共体标准),发现其营养成分组成和物理性状有非预期改变,其中蛋白质、三种氨基酸、两种脂肪酸、两种维生素及其他数种(微量)元素出现 了非预期的构成变化。差异幅度:氨基酸20-74%,脂肪酸19-38%,维生素25-57%,(微量)元素20-50%,蛋白质35%;植酸没有显著变化。相比于非转基因水稻,转基因水稻的营养 成分构成和物理性状的非预期改变,可能与基因的转入有关,阐明变化后的作用需要经过更多研究。 这项研究所用的上述几种方法,全都属于常规分析方法,不是专门检测转基因成分的高新技术,因此这项研究似乎不是针对转基因成分的。所以在研究中,外 源基因的表达、外源基因可能导致的未知物质的分析,都没有被涉及。仅仅做常规性分析,就可以发现,转基因水稻成分变化,相对于天然水稻来讲非常之大。 这是一项意义重大的发现,但是似乎没有人知道它。在网上搜索发现,这篇文章被引用过3次。这项研究是不是可以至少把实质上相同神话打破一次呢:转了基因之后,水稻主 要营养物质成分的差异程度可以达到19-70%这么大,这到底应该属于实质上相同,还是实质上不相同呢?
蒋高明 上周末,笔者收到下面的采访函,来自环球时报的Andrew Tait,是个服务于中国媒体的外国记者。他是得知国际土豆中心将在中国北京设立办事处,推荐转基因土豆这个问题来采访笔者,并提出了下面的问题。我在电话里回答了他的问题。本人对于众多转基因食物包围我们,且在消费者不知情的做法是有不同看法的,对于疾控中心官员说转基因食品没有安全问题是持保留意见的;对于只依靠转基因手段提高粮食产量做法是不同意的。是不是这样,历史将会做出判断。 到底有多少转基因食物在我们不知情的情况下进入了我们的餐桌?笔者不知道,我想这个数量可能很大。转基因专家可能会以此为理由,不是没有吃出问题来么?可见是安全的。但愿他们的意见是对的,我们的担心完全是多余的。 Prof. Jiang My name is Andrew Tait, I am the reporter with Global Times with whom you just spoke. As i mentioned on the phone, the International Potato Center, a world wide research and development organization, looking into the potential and possible modification of potatoes, has opened a new regional office in Beijing, to help their research projects currently underway in the region. It is my understanding that their work is based on GM studies and implementation, as well as other development projects, to create stronger and faster growing varieties of potato. Based on that, i was hoping that you would have some comments to make, with regards this development. The relevant news link is here; http://www.potatopro.com/Lists/News/DispForm.aspx?ID=3406 Basically, my questions are; 1) Are you opposed to the development and use of this kind of product in general, and specifically with Beijing at this time? If so, why? 2) A recent report suggests that China needs to increase it's food production by 100 million tonnes by 2020, to support its growing population. Without GM products, how can that be achieved, in your opinion? 3) Wu Yongning, of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, says there are no studies that have proved GM foods to be harmful to human health. Does Green Peace have any information that he is wrong? Can you cite any particular studies which prove GM products are harmful? To be honest, i do not support GM food production, and i would like that to be the aspect from which i write this article, about the IPC opening. I truly hope you can provide me with as much information as possible to enable me to do that. I do have a deadline though, so i would appreciate it if you could get back to me asap. Either by email, or by calling me on 13910300753 would be great. I appreciate your attention on this matter, and look forward to hearing back from you soon Sincerely Andrew Tait
Source: Global Times Comments By Huang Jingjing The approval of two types of genetically engineered pest resistant rice for widespread production in China has generated safety concerns among experts. The Ministry of Agriculture published a list of crops on stee.agri.gov.cn on October 22 that were granted bio-safety certificates and were approved for agricultural cultivation and production. At the bottom of the list are two transgenic anti-pest rice varieties, TT51 and Bt Shanyou 63, developed in the National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement, Huazhong Agricultural Univer-sity (HAU). Some complained that the ministry violated the public's right to learn the details of the lab work and they should publicize the research and assessment procedures. As the safety of the transgenetic food has been an argument, the appraisal of the rice should be transparent, Jiang Gaoming, an academic at the Institute of Botany, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, told China Youth Daily Wednesday. We asked to open the name list of the Crop Transgenic Biosafety Committee, which was claimed in charge of the assessment, Jiang said. Jiang's views were echoed by Fang Lifeng of Greenpeace China's Food and Agriculture campaigner. The public should know who made the decision for them and see the complete proof that the rice is totally safe to human beings and for the environment, Fang told the Global Times. He also said they are not against developing transgenic technology, but they oppose any application of the technology into biosphere and commercialization. Transgenic rice is created by inserting DNA from another species in it to make it resistant to diseases or insects. Experiments carried out in Italy and France show that the transgenic corns would damage the immune system and kidney of the mice, Fang added. The Global Times requested a comment from the ministry Wednesday with no success. However, some experts said the safety of transgenic rice is beyond doubt. The anti-pest Bt only accumulates on the rice's stalks and leaves and hardly reaches the rice grains, which makes its safety above suspicion, said Zhu Yingguo of the Chinese Academy of Engineering who is also a noted scientist on hybrid rice. According to HAU, the nutrition, toxic and allergy analysis showed that the two transgenic varieties are as safe as natural ones. The varieties we developed not only increase yield, but also decrease the usage of pesticides, which will be very helpful to the environment, said Peng, the director of the publicity department at the university. He said it is also significant for China's food security in the long run. Now the transgenic seeds of the US have grabbed a large share in the Chinese crop seeds market, including corn, soybean and cotton, he said. However, many Chinese said they would not eat that rice. Even the pests will not eat it, how could we dare to? said Li Lun, a student from Shenzhen Polytechnic. Peng said that view was groundless. First, the digestive system of human beings differ from those of pests. Besides, pests eat stalks and leaves, not the grains, how could the two compare with each other? Peng also said they would make efforts to publicize the rice's safety. After getting seeds production certificates and operation licenses, the rice will be first cultivated and grown in Hubei Province. According to the Southern Metropolis Daily, transgenic crops such as cotton, tomato and green pepper have taken the place of traditional varieties in China. Now transgenic cotton makes up 69 percent of the planting area.
Jiang Gaoming August 14, 2009 Recent studies show that food safety in China still needs improvement. Organic production is the answer, argues Jiang Gaoming. Here he explains how to make the shift. The new food-safety law allows consumers to claim up to 10 times the cost of a product in compensation if they discover it to be harmful, but consumers are unlikely to spend large amounts of money on third-party testing for the sake of a small reward. Related articles Organic food at a crossroads August 14, 2008 China encounters factory farming July 09, 2009 Food safety at a crossroads April 22, 2009 Environmental group Greenpeace recently tested vegetables purchased in supermarkets and markets in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou at a government-authorised independent laboratory in Qingdao. Traces of agricultural chemicals were found in 40 of the 45 samples that were tested, with a total of 50 different chemicals identified five of which are classified by the World Health Organisation as highly toxic. One strawberry bought at a Beijing Wal-Mart contained 13 different agricultural chemicals. This was not an isolated incident. Beijing Industrial and Commercial Bureau recently found levels of sulphites in seafood products produced by a well-known Hangzhou company that breached safety standards; a substandard batch of products has already been taken off the shelves. According to the National Business Daily , products from another four firms also failed to pass tests due to excessive levels of sulphites, sodium cyclamate, saccharin sodium and benzoic acid. In the past two years alone, we have witnessed scandals over tainted pork and melamine-contaminated milk . People have lost their faith in food; they can only ask what there is left to eat. To find chemicals in vegetables comes as no surprise, but the degree to which they were detected is shocking. And it is easy to identify these substances through testing, so how is it that they end up in the food chain? As a long-time observer of the food industry, I believe the following factors are to blame. First, producers are only that: they are producers. They do not consume their own products. Farmers do not eat the vegetables they grow; they are sold to others. Chicken and pig farmers do not eat the meat they produce; they buy more trustworthy products at the market. But what if everyone thought that way? There is a joke about a vegetable farmer and a pig farmer who eat together: the former only eats the pork, the latter prefers to stick to the vegetables. Farmers do not use chemicals and fertilisers on the foods they grow for their own consumption. Farmers would be too ashamed to use their farmed chickens to feed their guests; they only sell those birds to the cities. But if you live in a city, you do not have a choice. Second, higher quality products are more expensive to produce, and retailers are not interested. Agricultural authorities class products as organic, green, environmentally-friendly or standard; large differences in the cost of production are reflected in retail prices. A lack of oversight means that many products labelled organic or green are not what they purport to be. This means the costs are lower, but the profits are higher so plenty of retailers are willing to play along, including large supermarkets. Third, consumers cannot test products and can do nothing to control pesticide use. The new food-safety law allows consumers to claim up to 10 times the cost of a product in compensation if they discover it to be harmful, but consumers are unlikely to spend large amounts of money on third-party testing for the sake of a small reward. Consumers are clearly the weaker party in this transaction; they simply buy what the supermarket sells. The only hope is for the authorities to provide protection. Fourth, there are major failings in agricultural production methods. Pesticides, fertilisers, herbicides, additives and agricultural membranes are the conventional weapons of modern agriculture. Now the authorities have popularised a new addition to the arsenal: genetically modified food. Out-of-season crops increase the levels of chemicals in foods. Intensive animal farming brings poultry to market in 28 to 45 days, pigs in 10 to 16 weeks. This battle against biology means our food is full of chemicals, hormones and additives. Fifth, oversight is weak and unable to deal with food pollution at its source. Small-scale farming and numerous retail channels mean supervising food quality is problematic. Currently, testing is carried out at supermarkets and markets. But by that point the chemicals and additives are already in the food, and only a minority of products are taken off the shelves the majority slip through the net. To keep the locals happy, local government play down major events and do not even report the small ones. Supervision by ordinary people is necessary to keep chemicals out of our food. Sixth, scientists are not doing a good enough job. The confusing profusion of chemicals and additives is a new development. Scientists deliberately exaggerate the positive effects of their inventions and play down the negative impacts. Melamine was the masterpiece of a scientist without enough of a conscience. Yet the work of many chemists, biologists and agricultural scientists is focused on food production. It would not be difficult to do away with the chemicals and adopt organic farming; the difficulty is getting a good price for good produce when our very food is traded by merchants who compete on cost. Relying on fines is inadequate: we need systems that supervise producers; that let consumers know where their food is sourced; and that allow third-party certification, with strict annual checks. Consumers should bear the costs of food produced in a healthy environment, in a voluntarily, market environment. If the number of genuinely organic products on the market were to increase, so would the demand for organic products. We need food safety, and safe food must be produced in a healthy environment. We must gradually do away with chemicals, fertilisers, herbicides, agricultural membrane and genetically modified food. The costs and labour involved can be recovered through the sale of premium-priced organic foods, thus restoring the ever-deteriorating rural environment.